Soundtrack Music – ruminations, reviews and interviews

There are scores which you don’t really grasp unless you understand musical theory. There are some scores which mystify, confound and defy description. And then there are some score that just are and I stumbled across one today. Gold Coast [Guldkysten] is a Danish film directed by Daniel Dencik and is the harrowing story of romantic visionary Wulff who in 1836 travels to Africa to create plantations on the Gold Coast. Despite his good intentions he is quickly confronted with the harsh reality of the slave trade and it’s unbelievable brutality.

I had not heard of the film or the score until I listened to it today. In fact I listened to it 3 times in a row to take it all in, this is a soundtrack which will burn into your senses. It is scored by Angelo Badalamenti with Masse Martunussen and Johan Caroe. Whilst I have always appreciated Badalamenti’s work I have not been an ardent fan of his and yes there are seconds when you can hear Twin Peaks but don’t let this put you off as here his continuous stream of ambient low notes works big time. I usually cringe when I see more than one composer listed but these three composers work as a team and apart from spotting Badelamenti’s touch, the score is both fluid and wondrous. They were all working off the same hymn sheet as it were. How they thought a synth driven score would work in a film set in 1836 is beyond me but they have and it is a core not to be missed.

I had a purely emotional reaction to this score and didn’t even want to think about the construction of it, I just wanted to immerse myself in it. Saying that I can tell you that in parts it is sparse and in places it swells. It is odd and it’s beautiful in equal measure and it makes you want to see the movie. Two cues of note – Ascension starts slow then with heavy organ it rises till you think you can’t take it anymore and Entry will simply blow your mind.